The NAACP announced today that it will sue the City of Myrtle Beach and the Myrtle Beach Police Department over the 23 mile bike loop put up by the city over the Memorial Day Black Biker weekend.

Said Anson Asaka, Assistant General Council of the NAACP, “There are two events in Myrtle Beach, two motorcycle festivals. One is black bike week and the other is Harley week. Now these events are similar in size and behavior, yet the city of Myrtle Beach treats each one of them separately and unequally.”

Ricky Kelly produced the documentary, Black Beach/White Beach last year to standing room attendance and ovations at showings in Wilmington, NC and New York City.

MyrtleBeachSC.com reached out to Kelly concerning his thoughts on the lawsuit. “I applaud the efforts of Mr. Asaka and the NAACP. The black biker community has tried every other means possible to get the city to come to the table. While it is unfortunate that it has come to this, I hope the NAACP great success in their effort to create equal justice for all concerned.”

Ricky Kelly, Documentary Filmmaker, Black Beach White Beach

Attorney for the NAACP, Reed Colfax of Relman, Dane & Colfax PLLC, wrote, “The Court found that the earlier plan was likely motivated by race and now just a few years after the consent order expired, the City has come back with an even more restrictive plan; it is clear that the City is once again discriminating against the African Americans who attend Black Bike Week.”

MyrtleBeachSC.com also reached out to several members of the Carolina Forest community who stated they do not like the loop running through Horry County communities outside the city limits of Myrtle Beach, while avoiding the Dunes section of Myrtle Beach.

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About David Hucks

Born in 1961, David is a 12th generation descendant of the area we now call Myrtle Beach, S.C. David attended Coastal Carolina University and like most of his family, has never left the area.
David is the lead journalist at MyrtleBeachSC.com